HikeArizona.COM

Inspired by the mexican food/pizza posts, I'm wondering about good places around AZ to grab a beer after a hike or backpack trip. The smaller/more obscure towns would be especially appreciated, because I'm used to only coming across only the cheap domestics at those places.
Some places I've stopped at post-hike:

Prescott- Prescott Brewery. The Petrified Porter is good, but their seasonal "Achocolypse" (which is Petrified Porter brewed with milk chocolate) is absolutely amazing.
Flagstaff- Lumberyard Brewery. Imperial Red was awesome.
Sedona- Oak Creek Brewery. Boo. Not a single redeeming quality here. Chicken quesadilla was mediocre, beer was watery.
Tucson- Nimbus Brewey- Though I love Old Monkeyshine from a bottle,it was twice as good on tap.

In Tempe we'll frequent Boulders on Broadway and Four Peaks after gym climbing. Actually, we're spoiled here in Tempe. Example: I live next to the most ghetto looking corner store ever, but upon walking in you'd think you're in a Total Wine.

Yardhouse would be a good place to hit on the way in town from the west. I suppose Rock Bottom from the northwest, though I wasn't impressed with any of their beers.

Any ideas? I'm particularly curious about the Payson area.

@chumley
What about weekday afternoons say between 2-4, after the lunch crowd & before dinner? I like to hit places like this during the off hours to avoid jams.

@rwstorm
I rarely get to go daydrinking, so I have no idea, but I would expect it to be pretty easy at that time too. But I think that Saturday and Sunday tend to busy all day.

Stopped in there about a month ago, some pretty tasty beer on tap. Too bad it's almost an hour's drive for me.

@SpiderLegs
have a couple cold ones to go on ride home, it will make that drive seem like a half hour...

friendofThundergod wrote:@chumley

chumley wrote:After 9pm it's downright pleasant to be there!

Why? is that when you leave ;)

Now that was funny.

chumley wrote:@azbackpackr
Did you ever send me a photo? I think I have a few to print still. It's been a while since I added any. There are no darts but the photos are in the hallway on the way to the bathroom so if there's a wait, somebody might find a more creative way to express themselves.

Yes, I sent you a photo. I seem to recall that it might be accepted even though it was taken at a California wilderness. http://hikearizona.com/photo=377428

@Widowmaker
actually all those were on tap at once. i have a 3- keg "keezer" and what's in it now?

a begian i named "tripel lobotomy" @ 10.24%
a deschutes Fresh Sqeezed ipa clone 7%
coming soon an jr. imperial american stout with chocolate and toasted coconut "cuckoo for coco-nuts" 8.2%

hike on over!

*edit, just got wind of this new joint, called SIP. a coffee house with craft brews? sounds like a winner for the DD crowd, too. http://www.sipcoffeeandbeerhouse.com/beer.html

Was "just" there - topped off my 12 days out west with an AWESOME burger and several fine beers - here is proof! Kinda cool head.....

i know there are boulders on broadway fans. heck, some hiking clubs hold meetings there. well, good news! owner Erick is opening another boulders, even closer to the supes!

http://mouthbysouthwest.com/2014/10/30/ ... -december/

That's not really news (at least not to folks who go to BOB with any regularity) ...

I'm curious to see how it ends up doing. The demographics there don't seem to be favorable for what they are trying to do.

There's a new place out in the far west valley called Saddle Mountain Brewery. It's off of Estrella Pkwy, just south of I-10. Got a flight of all of their beers on Saturday night. Not the best in town, but not the worst in town. Food is typical pub grub. But if you are driving back from the White Tanks or points west, it's worth a detour.

After backpacking the Mt Baldy Loop, I went to Pinetop Brewing Company. It is a combined brewery and BBQ - a fantastic idea!

I had a pulled pork Reuben with green chiles and sweet potato fries. It was excellent. They let me sit on the patio with my dog.

New brewpub in Mesa (Stapley just south of US-60 - East side, next to the movie theater) - Beer Research Institute opened yesterday! Try their Black IPA - "Street Cred"!
http://www.thebeerresearchinstitute.com/

My shop is about 1/2 way between BRI & Wilderness....... decisions...decisions.....

oh and don't forget Mother Bunch (julie meeker's place) on Roosevelt and 7th street. http://motherbunchbrew.com/ they only have guest taps for a short while, then introduce their own brews.

I know this isn't a "microbrewery" but 4 Sons @ Cave Creek & Carefree has upgraded their beer selection A LOT! This is one of my regular stops for beer on the way home and today I was pleasantly surprised to find 10-12 new VERY good beers(bottle & can) in the freezer. Now... they're a little pricey but I feel the quality and scarcity of the beers offset this. Unfortunately their tap beers haven't changed... yet ;)

Just want to let all the beer lovers know the good news It definitely made me happy

Along the same lines as the last post, I've been spending quite a bit of time lately in the Coronado Neighborhood. The Sunshine Market at 12th Street & Oak somehow has access to craft beer that is just about ready to hit their expiration date. So it's a crap shoot every weekend because the selection changes. But they have 6 packs for $3.99 and 12 packs for $7.99 on a handful of beers. Right now working on a 6 pack of Deschutes Pale Ale. A few weeks ago they had a bunch of weird bombers from eastern Europe and some oddball IPA's for $0.99 a piece.

Generally, when heading back from the Canyon I stop @ what we call 'The Harley Bar' - it's actually 'The Roadhouse' in Bellemont that has about 36 micros on tap (Is Stone still considered a 'micro'?). But this time we visited the Grand Canyon Brewery in downtown Williams. They have a few beers of theirs on tap that you'd not find in cans or bottles, as well as a few guest taps. (I had Mother Road's Black IPA). Their food was/is surprisingly good and they had a lone guitarist/singer on the patio that was VERY good as well.

hikeaz wrote:Is Stone still considered a 'micro'?

The term "microbrew" has fallen out of favor ... most use the term "craft" now. Which eliminates the problem of defining Stone, New Belgium, and others that have become quite large, but still emphasize quality over their macro brethren.

did i mention Huss?
also, Blasted Barley, Scottsdale Brew Co. and Cartel are new. there are 3 more coming soon...
plus, Craft 64 is open, with 30+ LOCAL taps, that rotate, on at all times. they got the old pizza souz chef from Bianco as their main pizza cook now.
look for Pedal Haus, Rusty Bus, Goldwater and Westward to open soon!!

Mill Avenue nightlife entrepreneur ( Handlebar Tempe beer garden, La Bocca Urban Pizzeria & Wine Bar, and Gringo Star Street Bar) Julian Wright is going to open a 15 barrel/9 fermenter brewery/brewpub called Pedal Haus (see Mikey's post above) in downtown Tempe this fall (In the old 'Islands' space).
Now we know who will be brewing the beer: Derek “Doc” Osborne.The news may come as a bit of a shock to those familiar with the Arizona craft beer scene. Osborne, one of the state’s most prominent brewers, has been with BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse for two decades.